Oh boy .. something to look forward to!! It amazes me that these little monsters turn out to be such wonderful/loving dogs.
Nothing to add except I absolutely remember those "Oh my lord what the hell have I done I can't cope with this puppy thing no no no no no" days. And Pongo was a breeze (relatively!). You are absolutely not alone, not for one second. Come here for advice, shoulders to cry on, time out, somewhere to just VENT....any time. It will all get better, and then you'll be the one providing the "I've been there too" advice for the next new puppy parent in despair! Pongo says "Come on, Jaks, give your mum a break.... she's trying really hard and she's only a human after all...." xxx
Your reply just made me laugh and then cry... which felt good!! It is exactly how I am feeling but I really want to power through and not get this little fur ball get the best of me!!! One a positive note, it has been great for the weight loss! Stress has made lose my appetite and the walking/playing is extra exercise!!
Every cloud , silver linings and all that , take the positives where you get them but seriously do look after yourself well xx
As Jake (15 weeks) bit the tender underside of my upper arm this am, I wondered why the hell I thought a puppy would be a good idea. But when he settles in the evening, rests his head on my lap and gives that big puppy sigh as he calms down to sleep I love him. He has totally rocked our household. The cats are wary (3 yr old) and hissy/spitting (2 yr old) and he wants them to play and woofs at them. It's much much worse than having kids but each phase passes quicker. And there is always wine (which I am currently drinking - more from the library managers meeting I had today than puppy problems, but hey!)
Awe, what a heartfelt post and picture! I think I need to do more cuddle time with Jaks when he is settled down. It has been a hard balance to spend time with Jaks without making the other one jealous. Jaks just got one of my blouses and ripped the sleeve.. oh well, at least it wasn't one of my favorites. At least we have a long holiday weekend coming up so I can get some relief from my husband.. maybe a night out with the girls is in order
Jake ripped my husband's shirt the other day when excited Bitey moment hit. Today he has learnt jumping onto the (totally nothing there to play with or chew) coffee table is fun. I say off and give him a treat if he gets down. Husband thinks he will learn to jump up then down to get a treat. It's never dull, that's for sure.
Jaks is doing that with the kitchen chairs, puts his paws on them and looks at me like he is so proud!!! My full vocabulary now is, NO BITE (like that works ..ha ), OFF, LEAVE IT, SIT... soon to be adding.. DOWN, STAY and PAW. I am loving that I am not alone in all this
Jake will now (eventually) stop chewing on hands and clothing when we say leave. He does sit, down, leave, paw, come, catch (hit and miss). Working on "in your bed" so we can send him to lie down while we are eating - lol, that is so not working so he is crated while we eat. Off only works with my giving enthusiastic get off hand gestures.
We start 'basic manners" class tonight, however the first night is just orientation with the humans, puppy free night. Hoping to get some education on the training, the puppy class only had us work on come and sit.... come is a tricky one unless there is a treat involved. He doesn't like his crate downstairs so we have a pen for "time outs" that we plop him in when he is getting too hyped up or attacking the older dog. We use it for like 3-5 minute time outs and it does calm him down a bit. When we have to go out he is in the kitchen behind a baby gate....so far it is working.
I'm still undecided about puppy classes. We "seem" to be doing ok by ourselves for actual training but I wonder about the classes for dog socialisation. However have friends with assistance Labrador and assurance retriever. Trying to have regular play dates with them plus some dogs we meet on walks are lovely and friendly and want to play.
We are doing it mostly for the socialization aspect, because of how our older dog reacts to him, we think it is very good to see that not all other dogs are like this. Plus it helps to try to get him to focus on US when there is a lot going on around him. We haven't done a ton of walking with Jaks yet because we were told not to do a lot of "walking" until he is 12 weeks old because of potential hip issues...Also once he hits 4 months old and has all his shots, we are thinking of puppy daycare for a couple days a week, again for the socialization.
